Jenny Ord

Jenny Ord

ABOUT

Although born in Gauteng before it was so named, Ord has lived most of her life in the Eastern Cape. Her tertiary education commenced with a B.F.A, and ended with a M. Tech. F.A. (cum laude).

From the mid-1980’s, She has used visual art as a means of metaphorically and sometimes symbolically expressing ideas regarding what appears to constitute our uni- or perhaps more correctly, multi-verse. These ideas have been derived from both formal and informal studies of philosophy and the sciences. To this end, the imagery, media and techniques used have varied: from figurative/semi-figurative to abstract subject matter; from painting and drawing with a mixture of traditional materials, to the assembling of found and fabricated three-dimensional forms and the construction of site-specific works. In other words, the type of imagery (or subject matter) and the choice of medium and techniques have always depended on which aspect of humanity has been targeted for scrutiny and elliptical commentary, tinged by a delicate dash of the absurd.

Ord has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally in over eighty group and solo shows; and has been a finalist in competitions such as the Cape Town Triennial and Sasol Wax in Art Competition where, in 2003, she was a merit award winner. From these exhibitions, her work has found its way into private, corporate and public collections. She has also collaborated with the Nigerian-based Pan African Circle of Artists in their promotion of African art by Africans. Her output includes articles in the South African Journal of Art History and a number of catalogues, and a chapter in a book.